I've owned this beautiful Sennheiser HD 650, and have tried it on two different amps with mixed results. I guess what I am looking for is a warmer sound with well defined bass... but not overly so, and highs that produce good results. I have tried the Corda Headfive and the Headroom Micro amp... both did well. I have the Microamp at work with my Sennheiser PX100... that is a great little setup with great results. The Corda did a good job, but not nearly as well as my roommate's AKG 701's... they sounded really good on the Headfive unit. So I am looking for some advice as in what amp would best suit me. I am kinda new in this headphone world, so I would appreciate any advise.

The obvious question is: how much are you willing to spend? I will give you feedback tomorrow on how balanced 650s scale, but the feedback here has been good. The HR Desktop Balanced is a beast, for your information.

The balanced desktop seems really good... but, $1397.00 with the DAC seems steep. I could swing it but rather not. Highlife, the Darkvoice has been on my watch list, I was reading a bit about it, but I wouldn't even know where to start with tubes. Also how long to tubes last? I would imagine they would require a warm up and warm down sequence of some sort.

The balanced desktop seems really good... but, $1397.00 with the DAC seems steep. I could swing it but rather not. Highlife, the Darkvoice has been on my watch list, I was reading a bit about it, but I wouldn't even know where to start with tubes. Also how long to tubes last? I would imagine they would require a warm up and warm down sequence of some sort.

Thanks again guys, you rock!

It is expensive, and the urge to upgrade is always there, but it is a great amp.

I really enjoy the K701, and it is the headphone with the most clarity I have ever heard.

Another vote for the Darkvoice 332. My preference is with Svetlana 6S19P-V and Western Electric 403b tubes. Tight, deep bass and lush sound throughout. I can listen for hours.

For reference: I had the HeadFive and tried it briefly with the HD-650. I did not like the pairing.

In addition, I also like my HeadAmp Gilmore Lite with the HD-650 with certain types of music (better with faster digital instrumentation and music that doesn't need as much bass slam). However I typically reach for the DV first and more.

The Woo Audio WA6 is a great match for the HD650's. I just got mine 3 weeks ago and I'm loving it. Also, the build quality is second to none. I've been breaking it in 12 hours a day with no heat issues at all. It runs warm at best. Unlike the Little Dot 2++ which ran extremely hot after a couple of hours.